Washer.



1. U. COOPER.

WASHER.

APPLlcATloN FILED fa.l|,1914.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

Jam 6700/0625' UNITED sTATs PATENT onirica.

JAMES U. COOPER, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

WASHER.

Application tiled February 11, 1914.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, Jantes U. COOPER, acitizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of BewYork and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements inlWashers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a Washer designed for use uponautomobiles, and adapted to prevent the lubricant or dope flowing fromthe box or housing of the differential gears along the shaft to thebrake mechanism, and interferingr with or impairing the Working of thesaid brake mechanisin.

The invention further resides in the construction of a compressibleWasher :that mav he easily and quicklyY applied and which will heself-sustaining when in applied position. that is, no nuts or boxes willbe required for holding the Washer against movement to prevent the saineentering the housinfr of the differential gears.

`further object of the invention is to provide a Washer of this classwhich may he compressed or bulged to adapt itself to the iff/tryingthicknesses or diameters of the parts to which it is applied.

lilith the above and other objects in View, the invention resides in theconstruction, r-.onibination and arrangement oit parts set lorth in thefollowing; specification and Falling within the scope oi the aiipenrlerlclfiin'i.

lin the drnvi'infs there has been illustrated a simple and preferredembodiment o thc improvement reduced to prac-tico, but the importantinstrun'ientalities thereof may ce varied, :and so l am entitled to all:auch ciangcs as tall Within the scope of my claim.

in the drawings: Figure 1 a sectional view or a slightly modiied'form oiWasher. Fig. 2 is a .side elevation of the washer illustrated in Fig.fl. Fig'. 3 is a perspective view ot the spring reinforcing membersemployed in connection with the type of Washer illustrated in Figs, 4.and 5 of the drawing. Fig. 4 is a. perspective view or a still furthermodified form of the washer. Fig. a sectional view talion in lino withone ot the sprinffs employed iii connection with the 'forni ot washerillustvtecl in Fig. 4. Fig. (i :i plan vicv oi thc spring'.

is well known the within the housing must he constantly lubricated, and

Specification of Letters Patent.4

y Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

serial no. 818,114.

to accomplish this the top of the housing is re'noved, at intervals, thegears washed by tno application of gasolene or similar cleansing liquid,and the box'packed with a lubricant grease, commonly termed (lope. Thedope is of a gelatinous condition or state and under the continuousgrinding of the intermeshing teeth of the gears 'Within the box orhousing, the same is reduced to almost a liquid state, and is propelledor forced toward the sleeves or Collars upon the 0pposite sides of thegear box, as there is no other means of exit. As a consequence thelubricant travels upon the line of the axles and will be received Withinthe box. or housing of the brake mechanism, Where the same is notdesirable, and Will so interfere with the Working of the said mechanismas to render the same either defective or unreliable. The collars orsleeves of the difu fercntial `ear housings, at their juncture with thesaid housings, are provided gcnorally with anti-frictional bearings forthe axles, and gaskets upon the opposite sides of the said bearings,These gaskets, however, have been found inefficient in preventing thellow of the lubricant to the brake mechanism, and furthermore theapplication of the said gaskets, at these points of the structure,requires the removal of thc axles as well as a number, if not all, ofthe gears from the housing, and again the move ment of parts and theconstant revolving of the axles produce a. great amount of wear isponthc gaskets and not infrequently cause the saine to he projected Withinthe housing, thus interfering with thevrliil'erentialsl and putting' themachine out of commission. The wear upon the gaskets renders the sonicinel't'ecti ve for iircventing' the flow of the lubricant to the brakelmecha4 nism. and their employment has thus been found to be extremelycostly, with' respect .70 repairs ,md application, and consequently notdesirable. i

In Fin; l ot the drawings l have illustrated the application of one formof my improvmient showing the saine arranged to surround an axle (idisposed Within the sleeve or collar 5 of the boxing of the difiercntialgear. thc ends of said sleeve only be ing` illustrated as thc parts ofthe diilerential rear lo not forni a. part of this application, andtherefore a detailed description of the same or an extensiveillustration is not deemed necessary. The collar 5 is surrounded by theusual tubular member which provides a protector having a portion of theaxle extending beyond the collar 5.

In the device illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 the washer 1 may be formed ofa plurality of compressible members `which are normally retained in afiat position, but which are adapted to be bent or otherwise rounded tosnugly engage with the outer periphery of the axle and the innerperipheryv of the bore of the collar 5. To expand the compressiblemember l I pass transversely through the same the arms 16 of asubstantially U-shaped spring compression member 17. The connectingmember 18 for the arm 16 may be slightly' arched and the ends of saidarms are provided with offset fingers 19 which may be received insuitable notches 7 in the collar 5 of the housing or may lie snuglyagainst the outer ends of said collar. The connecting member 18 for thearms is necessarily bent at a curvature when the flat strip is broughtto its rounded position and as a consequence the said member 18 exerts atension between the arms 16 causing the same to spread in an outwarddirection and consequently bring the lingers 19 into frictionalengagementv with the walls of the notches or the wall of the collar tohold the washer against movement when positioned, and at the same timebulge the washer across the same to frictionally Contact between theaxle and the collar.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a still further form of the device.As stated the washers are in the nature of sleeves, but the said washersbefore being shaped are flat, and the washer 20, at present beingreferred to, on the opposite sides of its tongue 21 and adjacent thelongitudinal wall provided by the groove 22 has substantiallyrectangular passages 23 and 24. The numerals 25-25 designate fiat springmembers one of which is adapted for insertion within each of thepassages 223-24. The springs are adapted to exert an outward tension,that is to normally spread and hold the washer 20 in a straight or latcondition, so that when the said washer is shaped in active position thesprings will have a tendency to force the meeting ends of the washeroutwardly and away from each other. Each of the flat the outer face ofthe washer., and in arranging the washer between the axle and inner wallof the sleeve or collar 5, one end of the washer is first inserted andallowed to expand or give under the tension or influence of the spring25 which is in that part of the washer at that time arranged between theaxle and collar. The teeth of the expanded spring engaging With theinner wall of the collar 5 will retard the same against movement, andthe portion of the washer between the said spring and the second oradjacent spring is then compressed or bulged Iaround the axle, until thesecond spring is inserted within the collar. The said second springexpanding, brings its teeth into engagement with the wall of the collar,washer is automatically sustained against movement, while the felt bodyprovides a dam for'preventing the Vexit of the lubricant from thedifferential box.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the simplicity of the device, as well as the advantages oftheI same will, it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those skilled inthe art to which such invention appertains without further detaileddescription.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

A Washer for preventing the passage of a lubricant through the collar orsleeve of a differential gear boxing along an axle to the brakemechanism, comprising a strip of vabsorbent material which is arrangedaround the axle and inserted within the collar or sleeve, metal membersof spring material associated with the washer to expand the same, thesaid spring members cooperating with the sleeve or collar for preventingthe movement of the Washer.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of witnesses.

JAMES U. COOPER. lVitnesses GEORGE H. PLACE, MINNIE D. NEUMAN, LOUISRosEN'rHAL.

and so the

